Well it doesn’t really need to be said, but A.J. Burnett gave the Yankees everything they needed last night. The bullpen was dead after Chien-Ming Wang went out and got pounded by the Rays in the first game of the series. Burnett gave them eight spectacular innings and kept all the arms in the pen on ice and Nick Swisher and his cannon in left field.
It seems interesting to note that both times Burnett took the mound for the Yanks, they needed a big performance. He stepped up after CC and Wang flopped in Baltimore and now he stepped up after the bullpen let down Joba and Wang failed to get out of the second. He is quickly turning into a stopper for the Yanks and he is looking more and more like a pitcher who is on a mission to fix his legacy.
On the other side of the ball – when did Nick Swisher decide to become Albert Pujols? His four homers only trail the Rays Evan Longoria and the same goes for his 11 RBI which leave him one behind Longoria and another young phenom, Adam Lind of Toronto. Swisher may be doing himself a disservice though, lifting Yanks fans expectations for him beyond what his skill level will actually produce.
At least he will have more than enough opportunities to show Yankee fans this quick start is for real. According to Pete Abraham, Xavier Nady had a sharp pain in his elbow as he threw the ball back into the infield during Tuesday’s game. Nady will get an MRI tomorrow and we will find out what this means for the Yanks for the long term.
Good thing Cashman decided to sit on both outfielders despite overtures from other teams looking to pry one or the other from the Bombers. The depth of having both looks like it will allow the team to absorb this setback until A-Rod returns later this month or early next. I would prefer having Nady around though, as it would mean Melky Cabrera gets little to no at bats and that Matsui would be one person further away from every seeing the outfield grass.
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